We're far enough into the season to compare a hitter's batting average on balls in play (BABIP) with his career number and get an indication of whether we might expect a turnaround or a drop-off.

Generally speaking, a hitter whose BABIP is significantly less than his career mark is a prime candidate for offensive improvement. Likewise, a BABIP that exceeds what we can realistically expect from a player is a signal some regression will occur.

But it isn't always so straightforward. Other factors are involved, and other metrics can provide more insight. Of particular interest are different types of batted-ball rates, such as line-drive percentage (LD%), ground ball to fly ball ratio (GB/FB), infield fly rate (IFFB%) and home run to fly ball ratio (HR/FB%).

Here are examples of players whose BABIP, when analyzed alongside some of these other numbers, provides evidence of what to expect for the remainder of the season.

***

Brian McCann, New York Yankees

His BABIP of .235 this season is well below his career .287 rate, suggesting a little bit of bad luck. His other batted-ball rates are within range of his past performances, except for a slight uptick in IFFB% (which means he's popping up a little more than usual), and a surprisingly low HR/FB%, even considering the increase in infield flies. It's safe to expect some improvement to his .230/.288/.372 (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage).

***

Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels

Pujols' BABIP has dropped to a career-low .224 (vs. a .303 career mark). That continues a downward trend in his BABIP, but also his walk rate, while his strikeout percentage continues to be on the high side compared with earlier in his career. It might be too early to place much stock in a low line-drive rate (15.6% vs. 18.9% for his career) and a high infield fly rate (19.3% vs. 13.0%), but considering Pujols' age (34), the low BABIP might not entirely be the result of bad luck.

***

Brett Lawrie, Toronto Blue Jays

Lawrie's offense in 2013 was disappointing, and this season has been similar. His power has been on the upswing (11 HRs in 215 at-bats), though, and his BABIP is down (.252 compared with .292 for his career). Expect this to translate to some offensive improvement.

***

Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants

Sandoval has enjoyed a BABIP of better than .300 for most of his career, yet this year he's at .258. The only evidence his batted-ball rates show that something's amiss is an IFFB% of 14.8 (up from his 11.6% career rate). An offensive rebound surely is in order.

***

Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers

Speedy baserunners such as Gomez usually benefit from a higher than average BABIP. However, Gomez's .377 mark and red-hot .308/.378/.559 start is unsustainable, mainly because of career highs in line-drive rate (25.3%) and HR/FB ratio (18.5%).

***

Mike Trout, Angels

Trout's BABIP of .361 is among the American League leaders and considerably higher than the league average of around .300. But it's down from his first two full years, mainly due to a 0.83 GB/FB rate that's much lower than his career average (1.15). A player with Trout's speed will greatly benefit by hitting more ground balls — unless, of course, the increase in fly balls translates to more power, which it only marginally has thus far. There's no reason, barring injury, to think Trout won't continue to be as good or better than he has been.

***

David Wright, New York Mets

Wright's .350 BABIP is partially making up for a troubling lack of plate discipline (he's striking out almost three times as often as he's walking) and vanishing power. Seeing that his HR/FB rate (5.9%) is less than half his career mark, expect a slight turnaround in the power department, but otherwise his offense appears to be in decline.

***

Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies

Tulowitzki's white-hot start seems to be leveling off in line with his BABIP falling from nearly .400 to his current .365. He might very well enjoy a career year, but his early-season success is unsustainable, especially a 25.4% HR/FB ratio.

HighHeatStats.com is an affiliate of USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties